I saw my first real, live armadillo last Thanksgiving weekend. It was not without warning. We visited my sister in Texas for the holiday, and while there I saw an ad for armadillo removal. Being a Los Angeles boy, that sounded as fantastical as the garden de-gnoming from Harry Potter. My sister explained that those ads are fairly common there and in the South. Apparently their digging makes armadillos a bit of a garden pest. I filed that little tidbit in my mind, being a bit of a trivia packrat.
On the drive back home, we took a scenic route through Mississippi. (My wife and I like to work in ways to visit new states on road trips.) There by the road, I saw a plethora of armadillos. Oddly enough, I thought the first couple were fake, discarded toys. They look so smooth, and so oddly shaped, and the armor makes even the dead ones look complete and doll-like. Then I saw one of the “toys” run away. The surprise of it made me realize the limits of my experience.
Which brings me to the point of this post. Call it the “armadillos in my garden principle.” Moving along the theological spectrum means passing through different worlds. The reference points are not the same, and different places are populated with wildly different critters.
Login to read more
Sign in or create a free account to access Subscriber-only content.
Topics: